Many types of personal portable electronic devices used for wireless communication, including cellular phones, electronic tablets, internet appliances, and similar devices have a display surface and a back surface opposite the display surface. The back surface typically houses a built-in camera, designed using low-profile optics that typically include lens elements with an objective lens that is at least slightly recessed from the back surface. The camera can be used to capture still or video images. The portable electronic communications device can include the capability for continuous video display, allowing the user to record motion content or simply to view objects in the field of view of the camera lens.
The view angle can be awkward, however. With portable communications devices, it would be desirable to acquire still or video images without the requirement that the device be held in a substantially vertical orientation. This can be the case, for example, where the viewer does not want to obstruct the scene, including obstructing portions of the scene for the viewer or for others. The viewer may not want to disturb the scene or to disturb viewed subjects by holding the personal communications device at an awkward vertical angle.
Another problem with the awkward angle of the built-in camera relates to how the display is generally used. Personal communications device users, for example, can often be seen viewing or manipulating the display while walking, taking advantage of free time to send or view email messages, send text messages, browse the internet, or use any of a number of available applications available with the device. Various applications have been identified to provide this content, so that, during this activity, video content, playing in the background of the display screen, can help the user to have at least a partial view of what may lie just ahead. Hopefully, this partial video content can help to prevent injury or mishap as the viewer's attention is focused on the display and not on the travel path, sidewalk, or structures ahead. Unfortunately, these existing applications require holding the camera at the proper angle, which is generally vertical and not the most usable or comfortable angle for texting and display manipulation.
There have been a number of attempts to alleviate this problem and allow the user to use the camera at a more suitable angle for viewing the subject and at a more suitable angle for walking while viewing the display. U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2014/0171150 A1 by Hurst et al. is one example that adds an optical component to the imaging path for this purpose. However, the proposed solutions for deviating the field of view shown by Hurst et al. '1150 and others have been shown to be unsatisfactory for a number of reasons:                (i) Poor image quality, with problems including distortion, ghosting, obscured field of view, and chromatic aberration including lateral color.        (ii) Image field reversal, so that the image scene is “upside down” at the camera, requiring an added software application on the personal communications device and requiring logic processing and memory resources to reverse the received video image content for display.        (iii) Awkward use, with solutions ranging from added components attached to device packaging to devices mounted on separate attachments. A low profile is preferable, with additional components requiring minimal storage space and handling for positioning.        (iv) Excessive pupil size. A 2-3 mm or smaller pupil size is compatible with the typical camera that is integral to a cell phone or other hand-held device. Existing designs provide a pupil size that is overly large, such as 8-12 mm Using such a poorly matched pupil size limits the field of view and takes up space not needed for imaging.        (v) Limited field of view (FOV). A field of view approaching at least 60 degrees in the vertical direction would be advantageous.        
Thus, it would be beneficial to have apparatus that allow deviation of the field of view for a smartphone or other handheld communications device for more usable view angle, while maintaining good image quality and a compact dimensional profile.